Men's Water Polo

In Case You Missed It

No. 3 Pacific makes statement win, downs No. 1 Southern California

STOCKTON, Calif. -- Pacific posted a statement win against No. 1 Southern California on Saturday 10-6 in front of a record crowd of 1,337 at Chris Kjeldsen Pool.

Goalkeeper Alex Malkis made 16 saves, including a penalty shot save in the third quarter which gave the Tigers the momentum to slam the door. Pacific improves to 16-3, 3-1 in MPSF play, while USC falls to 20-2 overall and 2-1 in MPSF action.

Junior Alex Obert scored three times, while Sean Grady added two including the game winner. Balazs Szabo chipped in two, while Kevin Oliveira, Aleksandar Petrovic and Balazs Erdelyi each added a goal.

Pacific's defense held up as the Tigers drained the clock and posted the program's first win against a No. 1-ranked team since beating the Trojans at the NorCal tournament in 1998.

The Tigers held USC to a season-low six goals, the fourth time they've been held under double-digits this season.

Pacific is now 4-3 against the top five teams in the country. The Tigers opened MPSF play with the other four conference teams ranked in the top five, and will play six through nine in the national polls in the rest of the MPSF schedule, giving Pacific the inside track on the MPSF regular season title and the top seed at the conference tournament (Nov. 29-Dec. 1 in Stockton).

The Gauchos spread the wealth today as Kevin Cappon, Bryce Miller, Matt Gronow and Eric Van de Mortel each had two goals apiece. Derek Shoemaker, Nicholas Jordan and Tor Jensen also registered a goal each for the offense.

Leading the defense was Chris Whitelegge as he recorded an impressive total of 18 saves; with two of those saves coming from two five meter penalty shots. Senior Jay Lovero stepped in tallying two saves of his own.

No. 9 Pepperdine 10, No. 7 Long Beach State 8

MALIBU, Calif. -- Pepperdine goaltender Bence Valcis had a career day, stopping 20 49er attempts to turn back Long Beach State on the road in a 10-8 defeat. Zacchary Kappos and Dimitrios Lappas each scored twice for the 49ers.

Long Beach State (17-7, 1-2 MPSF) started out strong against the Waves, taking a 4-3 lead after the first period. Kappos scored both of his goals in the period to help maintain the lead after Long Beach State scored the first two goals against Pepperdine (9-9, 1-3 MPSF).

Pepperdine evened the game with the first goal of the second quarter, the third of five from Marko Madaras, but Long Beach State held onto the lead with an extra-man goal from Devin Mefford to go into the second half with a 6-5 lead.

In the third quarter, the Waves pulled even with a pair of goals, and then took their first lead in the first possession of the fourth quarter on a goal from Luke Hewko. Lappas answered for the 49ers to tie the game at 8-8 with 6:20 remaining, but Long Beach State was held off the board the rest of the way, and Madaras scored the game-winner with 5:24 in the period.

No. 17 UC Davis, No. 10 UC San Diego

LA JOLLA, Calif. -- UC San Diego fell in sudden overtime 12-11 against No. 17 UC Davis on Saturday. In a thrilling back-and-forth game, the Tritons received a career-high six goals from Joe Dietrich in the loss.

UCSD falls to 12-11 on the year and finishes 4-1 in Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) action, while UC Davis improves to 11-12 overall and 3-0 in conference play. The Tritons with be awarded a No. 1 or No. 2 seed at the conference tournament on Nov. 22-23, depending on how UC Davis fares in its last two WWPA games. The Aggies face No. 14 Santa Clara and Air Force next week and can clinch the top seed with one victory.

With the score 5-4 at intermission, UC Davis came out in the third and scored three times before beginning the final period with a goal. The Aggies grabbed its biggest lead of the match, 9-6, with 6:05 left in regulation with the score from Austin Beckwith.